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Please please enable a more thorough import of data from Fitbit!

I would love it if I can import my Fitbit data more thoroughly into Garmin! I have been using Fitbits for the past 2+ years and so I have a lot of data there. A lot of daily fitness stats and also workouts. I am more interested in tracking my daily fitness metrics more than workouts, so if there is the ability to import this data more thoroughly I would appreciate it!

As of now I see the following data imported completely:

Steps
Floors
Weight
Calories

While this is a good start, it is not enough. More importantly, it simply does not import the more advanced stats I care about. There are three additional data points I wish the import handles. In order of preference, starting from most desired to least, I want to also be able to import:

Heart rate
Resting Heart rate specifically.
Sleep
Intensity minutes (aka active minutes)

Heart rate should be doable. It is just the same exact statistic and information as Garmin tracks. I would also LOVE to get resting heart rate info as well. BUT I just noticed that the standard tool that Fitbit provides does not provide a download of the second-by-second heart rate data. But, I know that you can download this and I have done it in the past. I would be happy to even pay a fee to Garmin to let me do this as a one-time thing. It involves Garmin creating an app using Fitbit's API and then asking for my permission to download the data and then import it.

While Heart rate turned out to be more complicated than initially imagined, the other two, aka Sleep an intensity minutes should be far easier. Garmin's import tool popup also explicitly states that it will import Fitbit's active minutes as "Intensity minutes" in Garmin terminology. YET, I did not see this getting imported! :(

Finally, sleep data is present in the file Fitbit lets you download. But it may be complicated to merge that into Garmin friendly format because, I am sad to say, but Fitbit is simply better at sleep tracking. No way around this fact. It lets you track naps along with sleeps. So, you may sleep from 11 PM to 7 AM and also from 5 PM to 7 PM later in the day. While Garmin only tracks sleep at night, that too only if you tell it when you typically sleep, which is very restrictive. In any case, even if Garmin just imports the night time sleep and ignores the naps, it is good enough for me as I do not nap a lot.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE allow us a more robust import! This can help disgruntled ex-Fitbiters to happily transition into a different universe. It can make us appreciate Garmin more. It can also serve as a great way to convert Fitbiters who are on the fence to go into the Garmin world and basically score a win off of any Fitbit misgivings. You may think this is a waste of your time, but trust me this can be an AMAZING way to win loyalty of new customers who've been in a different world and help with customer retention as it will show that you care about your users and want them to have the best experience, no matter where they came from. This may take an effort, but I am 100% confident this effort on your part will pay immense dividends over the long run, Garmin!

P.S.: If there is some way to import the data I was unable to import, i.e. heart rate, sleep and intensity minutes, PLEASE let me know. I do not mind even if it is convoluted and difficult route. I will do anything to get that data here!

0 Dr Phil over 6 years ago

Have you asked Fitbit to provide a means for you to retrieve all your data in a format that you can import into GARMIN? I think you can be pretty certain that there will not be much assistance from Garmin. Fitbit is just one of many different systems out there. There’s little advantage to Garmin to provide the means to import data. Keep the data in the Fitbit ecosystem that was collected on the Fitbit. Start anew using the GARMIN and move on.

As an aside take a look at tapariik.com. Maybe there’s something there.

0 litetaker over 6 years ago

I do not have to contact Fitbit to ask them to provide a means to retrieve all of my data. They already do that! https://dev.fitbit.com/build/reference/web-api/

I have already downloaded an app in the past that let me download all of my personal Fitbit data unrestricted. While Fitbit does not do this by themselves, they at least provided a means that easily allows third party developers to give you this feature. But this is not a solution until Garmin provides a means to dump this data into their system.

I do not see why this does NOT provide Garmin an advantage!! Why will Garmin be hurt in letting users import some of their old data from a different platform into their system? If they let you do this as a means to transition from a previous platform you are on, it will be useful for people like me. Otherwise you may not even be invested in the platform to care for sticking around. It will be very cumbersome to use this approach to use a third party tracker with Garmin as it is very laborious and it will be easier to just stick with the third party. I just want this as a transitional importing tool.

0 Trail5 over 6 years ago

I need the same functionality as well. From my dashboard there is a upload/import option and it points to Fitbit. I will try this eventually as I'm a new convert to Garmin and getting settled in. It will take time. I'm blown away with the F5S from all its capable of which is a god thing. Cheers.

https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/1133 ciq.forums.garmin.com/.../1366670.png

0 Former Member over 4 years ago

I am in the same situation, I was very anger with the way that Fitbit managed the Charge 3 and the SpO2 sensor. I bought it on october 2018 and they activated it on january 2020, just 3 months before to launch Charge 4... coincidence?.

They even refused to give us some kind of discount to buy the new Charge 4 or similar, and I had problems to connect my fibit with the GPS of the phone going to running without any track, too annoying, and without any solution from them.

I tried to get the data from FITBIT, and from their files are not present for example the heart rate, and even is included the sleep times it is not considered by Gramin. There is other option to download ALL the data from them, in a JSON format, but it is not possible to import from GARMIN. I am a developer, and I asked in other post to know which API should I use to maybe try to import by myself all the missing data, but I don't understand why Garmin don't do it by themself, as you said, should be something good for them, because they could get old fibtit users that they don't won't to lose all the information that they tracked during years (in my case from 2015).

0 trux over 4 years ago in reply to Former Member

should be something good for them, because they could get old fibtit user

Not sure whether it would bring any profit to Garmin having a high number of Fitbit watch owners using their free application. It would only add more load on their servers, bring more support requests, and generally creating more troubles and cost, while not directly triggering any income.

Besides that Garmin will not allow any importing of HR data, or data requring the processing by FirstBeat technology (Calories, VO₂Max, Training Effect, Stress, Sleep,...) from non-native devices, because of licensing issues. And finaly they won't allow import of data influencing the HR and Calories data because of being contractually bound to insurance agencies often relying on that data when using Garmin watches for evaluating health benefits of their clients (with their consent).

0 Former Member over 4 years ago in reply to trux

they will have an income because the fitbit user will buy an expensive garmin watch,

about the licensing issues, this is a pity. I understand that the data shouldn't be modified in case that it would be used for insurance agencies, but somehow Garmin could mark that data as "imported", so the agencies could ignore all imported because there is a risk of wrong data. But for a personal use, I don't see the point to forbid a developer to create something for a personal use. For example I would like to buy the new Garmin Venu, seems a good watch, but I don't want to lose all my data from the last 5 years. I like time to time to see the changes during the months/years, so for me it's important to have this persona data.

Other weird thing is that I don't get the point to don't allow the APIs for personal use. I requested the APIs, to check if I could import from web api endpoints the data from the JSON files of fitbit, but seems that it is only allowed for companies and not for personal use, I only want to manage my data! :(.

As a developer, I would like to have if needed an extra benefit (done by myself) to manage whatever I think that I want to manage. For example I have contact lens, and I created time ago a widget in Android just to remember how many days I have them, to replace them after 30 days. Maybe I would like to have something similar in my Garmin watch, but if they don't allow to do these things I would be let's say with the hands tied.

0 trux over 4 years ago in reply to Former Member

For example I have contact lens, and I created time ago a widget in Android just to remember how many days I have them, to replace them after 30 days. Maybe I would like to have something similar in my Garmin watch, but if they don't allow to do these things I would be let's say with the hands tied.

Have a look at the Connect IQ SDK. It is free and open to anyone